It’s a dot-mom world — and you’re speeding down the information superhighway. So slow down and pull over at these new, not-to-be-missed sites

Best for Practical Information
www.thecradle.com
What It Is: An all-questions-answered primer for the newly pregnant and the newly parenting, with eco-friendly undertones.
Why It's Worth Your Time: No need to troll multiple sites when you can get one-stop shopping here: parent-to-parent advice, cool baby gear, and green-living guides.
Don't Miss: The useful and easy-to-navigate baby-name database: more than 50,000 names tailored to the origin, the level of popularity, and the letter you desire.
www.pluggedinparents.com
What It Is: A comprehensive cyber-world that offers advice from a pediatric nurse-practitioner, reader-approved recipes, and even family-dog pros and cons.
Why It's Worth Your Time: You can quickly put to rest many anxiety-inducing issues, like language milestones and food allergies. Find all the answers here.
Don't Miss: The movie reviews. Never again will you suffer through a mind-numbing kids’ movie, thanks to the honest critiques of family-oriented films.
www.kidfriendlyguide.com
What It Is: A cross-country handbook of restaurants, resorts, after-school activities, and services that cater to kids, complete with reviews by parents.
Why It's Worth Your Time: Those steely glares from the no-children-welcome zone? Steer clear of them forever.
Don't Miss: The handy link to the extensive list of toy recalls from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Best for Networking
www.totspot.com
What It Is: Part online baby book, part social site. Parents create secure MySpace-like profiles for their kids and share pictures and milestones with loved ones.
Why It's Worth Your Time: You can save the hours calling Aunt Fran about baby’s first word and e-mailing Uncle Joe about tot’s first soccer goal. They can see it all here.
Don't Miss: The growth-chart application, which allows you to monitor your child’s development without marking up the walls.
www.raisingthem.com
What It Is: A six-degrees-of-separation site where you get together with parents you know and the people they know.
Why It's Worth Your Time: Because having a playdate with a parent you don’t know can be just as awkward as a blind date.
Don't Miss: The online support groups for people in the same boat (parents of multiples, parents of special-needs kids, parents of more than four children, etc.).
www.motherhoodlater.com
What It Is: A cyber powwow for the over-35 set, with encouraging info about fertility and surrogacy, plus lots of local chapter information for playdate planning.
Why It's Worth Your Time: You risk embarrassment by admitting your teenage crush on Donny Osmond to a bunch of 20-somethings. These women can relate.
Don't Miss: The hilarious blogs. Waxing poetic on everything from menopause to dealing with the cringe-inducing “Are you his mom or his grandma?” inquiry.
Best Daily Destination
www.babble.com
What It Is: A veritable safety net of we’ve-been-there advice and keep-you-in-the-loop news to help you during that gigantic leap into the world of parenting.
Why It's Worth Your Time: You’ll get smart, timely conversations. In other words, a break from goo-goo ga-ga sounds that can be the only talk you hear all day.
Don't Miss: The Health and Development section, where experts weigh in on 36 controversial topics, such as co-sleeping, cord-blood banking, and spanking.
www.thefamilygroove.com
What It Is: An online magazine that touches on such topics as autism awareness and fitness ideas on shedding the baby weight, all in a chatty, tell-it-like-it-is forum.
Why It's Worth Your Time: With the Power to the People e-mail, a quarterly e-blast for readers, you can save 10 to 20 percent off certain purchases at mom-friendly stores.
Don't Miss: A burgeoning local resource guide that tips you off to the best take-the-kids restaurants and bring-the-baby resorts.
www.ohdeedoh.com
What It Is: As the founders so aptly put it, “a site for people who care about good design but just happen to have children.”
Why It's Worth Your Time: There’s a wealth of trust-worthy resources for home improvements, saving you the trouble of gathering word-of-mouth advice.
Don't Miss: The Nursery Tours: voyeuristic, behind-the-scenes glimpses of real-life children’s rooms, including those decorated on an itty-bitty budget.
Best for Kids
www.zookazoo.com
What It Is: A site that takes kids on educational adventures through a make-believe world. (There’s an annual fee of $58. Best suited for ages 6 to 12.)
Why It's Worth Your Time: Because Zookazoo charges a membership fee, it comes armed with every online security precaution — meaning no inappropriate ads or pop-ups.
Don't Miss: The Hiphopolis world, where kids can listen to musical beats and play a musical memory game.
www.kidstube.com
What It Is: A YouTube-type forum (think video sharing, but more heavily monitored) that elicits both parents’ approval and kids’ interest.
Why It's Worth Your Time: You can rest easy that the content is age-appropriate and spend less time policing the TV for kid-friendly viewing.
Don't Miss: The Random Channels, where pint-size viewers can click on the wildly popular Webkinz-related videos.
www.handipoints.com
What It Is: A destination that transforms ho-hum chores into an opportunity to earn points.
Why It's Worth Your Time: You get a break from the bad-cop aspect of parenting. When kids willingly help around the house, you don’t have to nag.
Don't Miss: The chore charts. A tally-and-reward application that encourages kids to make their beds, brush their teeth, and clean their rooms.
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